CARLSBAD: County to consider $767K for airport runway study

Can you really extend a runway on an old city dump? And would
that project ensure greater safety for airplane takeoffs and
landings? What about reducing plane noise for nearby residents?

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is set to decide
Wednesday whether to spend $767,000 on a wide-ranging study to see
if a runway extension is feasible at the county-owned
McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad.

Peter Drinkwater, the county's airports director, said the
question of whether a Carlsbad runway lengthening could work has
been asked for decades.

Proposals for a longer runway have gained speed in recent years
as McClellan-Palomar has transformed into a busy hub for private
and corporate planes followed, in turn, by several fatal plane
crashes.

Supervisors in June asked county staff to take the first steps
toward a feasibility study. City leaders have also pushed for the
study, Drinkwater said.

"There's five cities in North County that want to see this
looked at," Drinkwater added, referring to Oceanside, Carlsbad,
Vista, San Marcos and Escondido. "What everybody, I think, is
interested in is the truth about whether you can really lengthen
the runway and feasibly do it."

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in 2008 called the
Carlsbad airport a challenge, in part because of its short
runway.

Four people were killed Jan. 24, 2006, when a twin-engine jet
crashed after it overshot the end of the runway while trying to
land early in the morning. Fifteen months later, on April 29, 2007,
three people were killed when a four-seat Cessna crashed off the
coast of Carlsbad shortly after taking off from the airport.

More recently, a pilot was killed on Sept. 28, 2008, when his
plane missed the runway and crashed in foggy conditions.

Drinkwater said the study would tackle complex topics including
how to build on the unstable covered landfill east of the existing
4,897-foot runway. Officials have eyed the area for a possible
1,100-foot extension, which would increase safety and allow fully
fueled planes to use the runway.

The airports director said everything from new surface
technology to building the extension on pylons has been
discussed.

Answering whether the project can physically be done is just one
part of the study's goal. It must also answer whether the
construction would meet strict federal aviation safety rules and
whether plane noise can be reduced.

Some who live near the airport, such as retiree Julia Crumidy of
San Marcos, are skeptical about the benefits of a runway
extension.

"I think all that's going to do is (allow the airport) to land
bigger planes," said Crumidy, who said her Linda Vista Drive home
is under the airport's flight path.

Some airport users, who in the past have included Bill Gates and
Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs, have asked for a longer runway so
they can take off in fully fueled planes and fly longer distances
without stopping.

Drinkwater said a longer runway would provide that benefit. But,
he emphasized, it doesn't allow the airport to land larger, noisier
planes. The lateral space needed for larger planes (with their
wider wingspans) is limited by development north and south of the
airport, he said.

Chuck Collins, who chairs the Palomar Airport Advisory
Committee, said extending the runway is a "win" for everyone at and
near the airport. He said residents southwest of the airport, where
most noise complaints come from, would benefit the most.

With a longer runway, planes would be higher off the ground once
they leave the airport, reducing the noise heard in the
neighborhoods below, Collins and Drinkwater said.

It would also provide pilots with more decision-making time
should anything go wrong, Collins said.

Those benefits persuaded the advisory panel to unanimously
support funding the study, added Collins, who heads a corporate
aircraft sales company and an aviation service company, both based
at the airport.

Collins said the panel initially questioned the study's $767,000
price tag. But it ultimately was worth it, given the complicated
task of extending a runway "on the city dump" and the expected
benefits.

The county's Airport Enterprise Fund would pay for the study,
Drinkwater said. He said the fund draws its revenue from leases on
county airport property. None of the county's general fund, which
pays for everything from potholes to sheriff's patrol cars, would
be used, he said.

Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., a national transportation
consulting firm, would conduct the study should county supervisors
approve funding on Wednesday, a county spokesman said.

If at any point during the study an extension is determined not
to be feasible, the study can be terminated with the county
retaining all remaining funds, according to the county.